


Do you think paper clips are unprofessional?

by zenonaa



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: F/F, dr3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 15:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7468800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenonaa/pseuds/zenonaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Aw, but it’s easy for you, Kyouko-chan,” replied Aoi. Her hand slipped off her cheek to cup the back of her neck, and she stretched, pouting. “You’re so cool-headed, you can brush off what other people say and stuff like you’re dusting fluff off your sleeve. I wish I could be more like that...”</p><p>Asahina has a chat with Kirigiri in her office.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do you think paper clips are unprofessional?

“Hey, um, Kyouko-chan, do you think paper clips are unprofessional?”

Kyouko looked up from the stack of papers in her hands and met Aoi’s wide blue eyes with a faint frown. Though Aoi could have seated herself at one of the two chairs on the other side of Kyouko’s desk, she had chosen the edge of Kyouko’s desk to perch herself on. The edge closest to Kyouko.

“Paper clips?” repeated Kyouko blankly. She blinked twice and hardened her features. “They’re commonplace in an office environment, so I don’t see why they would be unprofessional.”

Aoi kicked her legs out of sync, swinging them back and forth, shoulders back. “I bumped into Togami on my way here to deliver that paperwork to you, and he told me that paper clips don’t look very professional...”

“I see... You mean in your hair.”

“Mm hm,” said Aoi with a nod.

Kyouko bumped the bottom edge of her papers against her desk a few times.

“Admittedly, I haven’t seen anyone else utilise them like you do,” said Kyouko, which prompted Aoi to puff out her cheeks and avert her eyes.

“So you’re taking his side?” asked Aoi. Not only did her shoulders slump, but her ponytail seemed to droop too, losing volume as her head tilted forward dejectedly. She reached up to the hair swept over her right eyebrow and began trying to wiggle the paper clip free.

“... but it suits you,” said Kyouko, who hadn’t intended to finish her reply when she paused earlier.

Aoi wavered, one hand pulling her hair taut, paper clip nearly out. “Huh?”

Kyouko set her papers down in front of her carefully so she could lace her fingers together.

“The paper clip suits you,” clarified Kyouko, in case Aoi’s mind had drifted elsewhere.

“It does?” asked Aoi, to which Kyouko nodded. Aoi gave a slight smile at that and said, “Y-Yeah, but...”

Her smile somehow shrunk without disappearing, lips pressed together tightly. She dragged the paper clip out of her hair regardless of what Kyouko had said, hiding it in her hand, and rubbed her index finger against her cheek.

“... are you saying that I’m not professional?” Aoi finished asking.

Kyouko drew her hands apart and sat up straighter. Aoi noticed and tensed a bit, legs squeezing together.

“Asahina-san, you shouldn’t let another person get to you like that,” said Kyouko.

“Aw, but it’s easy for you, Kyouko-chan,” replied Aoi. Her hand slipped off her cheek to cup the back of her neck, and she stretched, pouting. “You’re so cool-headed, you can brush off what other people say and stuff like you’re dusting fluff off your sleeve. I wish I could be more like that...”

Aoi bent over, casting her eyes downward, hands clasped together on her lap. Kyouko shifted in her seat and placed her hand onto Aoi’s thigh. She felt Aoi stiffen.

“There are more times than you know about where someone’s comment has managed to burrow its way into my heart,” said Kyouko, and keeping her hand on Aoi, she raised her other hand and stroked herself on the back of her ear. After some hesitation, Aoi lifted her chin, and Kyouko continued talking. “What I’ve trained myself to do is not show the effects that other people’s words have on me. A reaction is what they want, most of the time, and if I don’t give them that, then they soon realise that trying to rile me up is a lost cause.”

Here, Aoi heaved out a sigh and plopped her chin into the palm of her hand. Her fingers drummed against her cheek.

“That’s not who I am though,” sulked Aoi. “Everything just gets under my skin and I’ve got to sweat it out as soon as possible... Togami’s remarks, Fukawa-chan’s teasing from before she left, Hagakure’s Hagakuring, and on top of that, getting a boyfriend before I’m twenty-six...”

Kyouko patted Aoi’s thigh. “Those three can be quite... vexing, I agree, and as for the boyfriend thing, I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“Not worry?” repeated Aoi, sitting up with a jerk. She prodded herself on the chest. “B-But I don’t have that many years left, and...”

“Asahina-san,” interrupted Kyouko, and Aoi almost glared at her. “You’re being too hard on yourself... You know, I admire how forthright and cheerful you are. After what you've been through, no one could blame you if you turned dark, but you haven't. Sometimes, I envy your sunny disposition, and how you instinctively jump to your friends’ defence as well as your own. Expressing your emotions isn’t a fault.”

“Weren’t you just saying that I shouldn’t let other people’s comments get to me?” said Aoi, too confused to be angry now.

“You shouldn’t when they’re trivial comments,” said Kyouko. Aoi dropped her hand to her lap. It landed close to Kyouko’s hand. “Besides, the others aren’t completely professional either. Hagakure-kun draws eyes on his glasses whenever he wants to pretend he’s awake while he naps at work and he steals cellotape, Fukawa-san would try to sneak into meetings she wasn’t invited to and steals post-it notes, and even Togami-kun, who has more experience in this sort of workplace than any of us, uses his phone during important meetings and steals pens. Compared to those things, wearing a paper clip in your hair is not a big deal at all and it isn’t even when isolated.”

Kyouko slid her hand on top of Aoi’s. Aoi grinned, and then, as a bonus, she giggled.

“Togami? Really? I mean, I totally believe it though,” said Aoi. She rubbed her knuckles against her eyes, not with the hand that Kyouko was holding. “Wow, thanks Kyouko-chan! I feel a lot better after coming to you.”

The next sentence was spoken with a hint of bitterness.

“It’s a shame we don’t get to hang out as much now we’re in different branches...” Aoi perked up. “How about we go out for dinner tonight, Kyouko-chan? Just us two?”

Kyouko’s cheeks warmed.

“That would be nice,” she said. She gripped Aoi’s hand more firmly.

“Good, then it’s a date,” replied Aoi, and she entwined Kyouko’s fingers with hers.

Smiling almost as much as Aoi, Kyouko elevated their joined hands, able to feel Aoi’s paper clip between their palms. Kyouko extracted it with her other hand and held it up. “Come here. Let me fix your hair.”

“You keep it,” said Aoi with a small wave, and Kyouko tucked the paper clip into her jacket pocket, over her heart. “I’m not stopping you from working or anything, am I?”

Kyouko shook her head.

“I’ve just got to proofread these articles for the next newspaper, but that shouldn’t take me long.” Under her breath, Kyouko added, “This sort of thing is more up Fukawa-san’s alley than mine...”

“Want me to keep you company?” chirruped Aoi.

“If you would.”

Aoi beamed. “I would love to, Kyouko-chan.”

**Author's Note:**

> i thought their interactions in dr3 in the first episode were sweet


End file.
